Vietnam to prioritise key projects of the Mekong Delta

Vietnam to prioritise key projects of the Mekong Delta

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued Resolution No.973/2020/UBTVQH14 dated July 8, 2020, regulating the principles, criteria, and norms of allocating public investment using the state budget for 2021-2025, which stipulates the scoring criteria for the high Mekong Delta region than other regions in the country.

According to Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Planning and Investment, the total allocated state budget for investment is about VND388 trillion ($16.87 billion) for the local projects in the period of 2021-2025.

The capital will be allocated for completing a number of key projects like the entire highway from Trung Luong-Can Tho, Can Tho-Ca Mau, linking-region routes, and lots of national highways in the Mekong Delta.

Besides, the mid-term plan for the period 2021-2025 also prioritises resources to invest in longitudinal highways connecting the Mekong Delta with Ho Chi Minh City and the southeastern provinces as well as regional connection roads such as Can Tho-Ca Mau, My An-Cao Lanh, and An Huu-Cao Lanh, among others.

“For the 2021-2025 public investment plan for the transport sector in the Mekong Delta, we agreed with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to invest about VND57 trillion($2.5 billion), an increase of 96 per cent compared to the 2016-2020 term,” Nguyen Van The, Minister of Transport, said.

As for official development assistance (ODA), the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank have proposed a budget of VND2.422 trillion ($105.3 million) for sustainable development in the Mekong Delta in 2021-2025, according to the directions of the prime minister outlined in Directive No.23/CT-TTg dated May 2020.

The ODA fund is used for completing works such as coastal roads going from Tien Giang to Kien Giang, freshwater reservoir in combination with irrigation infrastructure to serve production in the Long Xuyen quadrilateral, and a number of pervasive inter-provincial traffic works to create a driving force for the development of the region.

However, Dung added that the above capital has fulfilled about 50 per cent of the local needs. Thus, with the exception of a World Bank loan, the Ministry of Planning and Investment also received many proposals for concessional loans and grants from development partners.